National Federations to receive $20 000 grants

Speaking to representatives of National Federations during a meeting at the Wildey Gymnasium on Saturday, Minister Griffith said the Federations, which all represent different sporting disciplines, must use the funds for developmental purposes.

The Federations were advised that in order to access the funding, they must submit relevant documentation to the National Sports Council.

“I am not going to say to you what your development programme should look like for that $20 000, but it is expected that you put together a programme based on that funding that we are looking to give to every single federation,” he said.

“So to be absolutely clear, your developmental programmes are going to be entirely up to you in terms of how you see that programme working for you in terms of your discipline. If you want to come to us in relation to assistance, that is in place,” he said.

Griffith further indicated that in addition to the $20 000, National Federations also make requests for technical assistance if there is a need for them to do so.

He added that the Government has also taken a decision to assist structured clubs with technical assistance.

“So, if there is a need for balls, if there is a need for bats, whatever it is that is used in the particular discipline, then we are prepared to look at that and to facilitate that as well,” he said.

Additionally, Minister Griffth called on the heads of the Federations to look closely at their coaches and determine whether there is a need for them to be trained and equipped with modern knowledge and skills so that they can competently prepare their players for competition nationally, regionally and internationally.

“To that end, I have taken a decision that we are going to focus, as a pilot, on a couple of disciplines in terms of having a dedicated coach and all the necessary resources to a core team of some of the disciplines to see what will happen at the end of nine months.

“Is it a case where we are just spinning top in mud? Or is it a case where if we put some resources behind a particular discipline we can see results that can come out in a positive way,” he said.

Griffith added: “I am sure that all of you are aware that the gym here has been made available to every single federation for coaching. I am told by members of staff here that we recently had a hockey tournament which all of you are aware of, and more teams that visited Barbados used the facility than our home team.

“We need to look in a realistic way in terms of how we are treating the sports here. You had all of those teams bombarding the gym on a regular basis, hardly if ever, our national team visited the compound to do any kind of training. I am just saying that if we are looking at results, then we have to put all that is necessary in place to get results at the end of the day’. (AH)